The lawyer would not comment on the amount involved in the claim. Defense has until March 1st to respond, or a lawsuit will be filed.

According to Ruperti, State Secretary Barbara Visser visited the killed sergeant's family in Breda on Friday and said that Defense is responsible for what happened. The claim was submitted before the visit, the lawyer added.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed to ANP that Visser visited the soldier's family, but would not say why. "That is private."

35-year-old sergeant Sander Klap was fatally hit by multiple bullets during shooting training at a Police Academy location in Ossendrecht in March 2016. He was standing behind a target when another participant of the drill fired at it. All that separated the target and the sergeant was a thin wall.